How to better know yourself with scientifically validated tests
You can't find direction in life if you don't know yourself
Are you vulnerable to fear of missing out and peer pressure? Are you a people pleaser? Do you sometimes feel you are not “normal” and struggle with embracing what makes you unique? Do you sometimes struggle with making important life choices?
If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, this newsletter will equip you with tools I found over the years and that can help you thrive without compromising who you are.
It all boils down to knowing yourself first. When you know yourself, it becomes much easier to:
assess what is good or bad for you
set healthy boundaries with the external world
understand we are all unique and there is no one-size-fits-all way of living or doing things
Whenever I am trying to better understand a particular behavioural pattern I have seen in myself or in others, I go into periods of intense deep dives about an aspect of psychology (e.g. personality tests, subconscious mind, interpersonal dynamics, science of traumas etc.).
In the process, I have discovered these two personality tests that I’ll present today:
the most scientifically validated and reliable personality test
a test to assess the levels of your neurotransmitters (like dopamine or serotonin) which can impact your behaviour, emotions or mental state and can explain a part of your personality
I hope this newsletter will help you gain more insights about who you are at your core so that you can find more alignment in your life.
Cheers,
Auguste
Big 5: the most reliable personality test according to psychologists
If you key-in “personality test” on Google, you are faced with a plethora of options.
I don’t know about you, but when there is too many options and I don’t have any prior knowledge, I tend to fall into a state of analysis-paralysis.
As a consequence, I end-up doing nothing.
I like to know what is the best option (as objectively as possible) right away. And as far as science is concerned, it is the “Big 5 personality test” (sorry to disappoint, it is not Myers-Briggs aka “16 personality test”).
Basically, the assessment breaks down your personality into five fundamental traits:
Openness: Are you open to new experiences and ideas, or do you prefer the familiar?
Conscientiousness: How organised and goal-oriented are you?
Extraversion: Do you gain energy from social interactions or prefer solitude?
Agreeableness: How well do you get along with others and handle conflict?
Neuroticism: Are you emotionally stable or prone to stress and anxiety?
For each trait, you get a score which corresponds to how you compare with the rest of the population.
The score is called a percentile. An extraversion value of 80%, for instance, means you are more extraverted than 80% of the population, but 20% of people are more extraverted than you. Similarly a value of 25% for agreeableness means you are more agreeable than 25% of the population, but less agreeable than 75%.
The combination of the 5 scores constitutes your personality.
What does it mean to have a relatively high or low score for each trait? Well, let’s discuss this below.
High vs low scores for each trait
Openness
Low Score: You tend to be more traditional, prefer routine, and may be less open to change.
High Score: You are often more imaginative, open-minded, and eager to explore new horizons, whether in art, culture, or intellectual pursuits.
Conscientiousness
Low Score: You may be more spontaneous, disorganised, and less reliable.
High Score: You are typically organised, dependable, and diligent in their work and personal lives.
Extraversion
Low Score: You are more of an introvert and may prefer solitude or one-on-one interactions over large social gatherings.
High Score: You thrive in social settings, often seeking out group activities and deriving energy from interactions with others.
Agreeableness
Low Score: You may be more competitive, skeptical, and less concerned with others' emotions.
High Score: You are often more compassionate, cooperative, and willing to compromise in interpersonal relationships.
Neuroticism (Emotional Stability)
Low Score: You are generally emotionally stable, resilient, and less likely to be overwhelmed by negative emotions.
High Score: You may be more emotionally reactive, anxious, and prone to mood swings.
A high score or a low score is not necessarily good or bad
Before taking the test and just based on the descriptions above, you probably think the best combination is: high openness, high conscientiousness, high extraversion, high agreeableness and low neuroticism.
Well it’s not entirely true. A high score (or a low score) for any of the traits is never 100% beneficial or detrimental. It will highly depend on the context.
Let’s consider a high score for neurotism for instance. No one wants to feel emotionally reactive or anxious most of the time, right? Well, people who worry more have a lower risk of illness compared to the rest of the population. Because they are more hypervigilant, they are better at anticipating potential health problems and catching them before they become a problem.
We can also take the exemple of agreeableness. Being agreeable can help you be good at conflict resolution, but disagreeable people are better at negotiation.
The test
At this stage, you are probably curious to know how you will score on each traits.
The test consists of 60 questions and takes about 5-10 minutes to complete.
You can take it here: https://www.truity.com/test/big-five-personality-test.
Can your Big 5 results change?
Christopher Soto, associate professor of psychology at Colby College, gives an answer to the question in an article.
And while personality traits are relatively stable over time, they can and often do gradually change across the life span. What's more, those changes are usually for the better. Many studies, including some of my own, show that most adults become more agreeable, conscientious and emotionally resilient as they age. But these changes tend to unfold across years or decades, rather than days or weeks. Sudden, dramatic changes in personality are rare.
Braveman test: the chemicals in your brain can impact your behaviour and your thoughts
You have probably already heard the terms “dopamine” or “serotonin”. Well, these are called neurotransmitters. They are basically chemicals in your brain responsible for making you feel or behave a certain way.
What is the connection with your personality?
Well, we all have different baseline levels of these chemicals and our unique mix is directly linked to our mood, our motivation levels, our sense of security, our relaxation state, whether we are a go getter or a type B individual etc.
Depending on many factors related to our lifestyle (nutrition, exercise, sleep etc.) we can deviate more or less from our baseline. These sudden imbalances can explain mood swings, period of unusual depression, lack of focus and other uncharacteristic behavioural changes.
The Braveman test makes a connection between your personality or behavioural tendencies and 4 neurotransmitters: dopamine, acetylcholine, GABA or serotonin.
The 4 neurotransmitters of the Braveman test
For each neurotransmitter, the test can show:
“dominance”; it means you naturally produce a high amount of the neurotransmitter when you are healthy
“excess”; too much of anything is never good
“deficiency”; can lead to detrimental effects
In his book Boundless, the notorious biohacker Ben Greenfield gives a great summary about what dominance, excess or deficiency looks like for each neurotransmitter.
Dopamine
Dopamine dominance
You are likely strong-willed, fast on your feet, and self-confident. You tend to be highly rational and more comfortable with hard facts and figures than with emotions and feelings. You take pride in achievement, strategic thinking, problem-solving, and inventing. You are overly alert, often hyperactive, and you may need less sleep than others. You likely get bored with frequent cardio, and you love explosive workouts and heavy weights.
Dopamine excess
When dopamine is in excess, you are tempted to engage in impulsive actions and push yourself too far beyond your limits. As a results, you are at constant risk of physically and mentally burning out.
Dopamine deficiency
On the other hand, a dopamine deficiency can lead to fatigue, sluggishness, memory loss, or depression.
Acetylcholine
Acetylcholine dominance
You are tuned into your senses, highly creative, and open to new ideas. You make the best of any situation, no matter how bad it may be. You can stick to the same workout program for a long time because you can sink your teeth into routines, but you are also flexible, creative, and spontaneous. You enjoy activities involving words, ideas, and communication. You can handle high intensity and high volume, but your body needs more rest to recover. You are extremely social, charismatic, and charming, and you highly value relationships. You love adventure and travel and are constantly learning new skills and information.
Acetylcholine excess
You may become paranoid, panicky, or anxious.
Acetylcholine deficiency
An acetylcholine deficiency can result in poor memory recall, slow reactions to sensory stimuli, and a brain that generally feels slow
GABA
GABA dominance
You often function quite well and stay calm in stressful and chaotic situations, operating in a state of level-headed confidence. You love organisation and rigid schedules that eliminate uncertainty, and you’re drawn to institutions and traditions. You tend to be emotionally stable and slow to anger. You thrive on creating peace, nurturing and caring for others, and creating stability in the relationships around you. You may have difficulty motivating yourself to exercise hard because you are too relaxed to crave the excitement that training and competing can provide. Instead, you likely enjoy laid-back outdoor activities and sports.
GABA excess
May amplify your tendency to nurture to the point that you ignore your own health and needs.
GABA deficiency
Can make you feel nervous, irritable, and anxious.
Serotonin
Serotonin dominance
You’re highly responsive to sensory input and slightly impulsive, and you thrive on change and novelty—you like to try new foods, explore new hobbies, and travel to new places. You tend to be drawn to excitement, whether in movies, parties, or video games, and you prefer high-energy activities like gambling, mountain climbing, hunting, skydiving, and other extreme sports.
Serotonin excess
Can make you nervous and distracted and prone to emotional extremes. It can also induce desperation for interpersonal interactions.
Serotonin deficiency
A serotonin deficiency—often brought on by too much excitement or insufficient sleep—can make you feel overtired and out of control.
The test
If you didn’t manage to assess your dominance, excesses or deficiencies based on the descriptions above, you can take the test directly on the official website: https://www.bravermantest.com/
Can the 5 results change?
For this test, the results are more likely to change depending on your lifestyle. Especially excesses and deficiencies.
Not having enough sleep for instance can significantly impact the amount of neurotransmitters that can be produced.
Not eating enough of the nutrients needed to produce those neurotransmitter can also impact how you feel.
However, your dominance should be a constant in your life.
What if the test shows excesses and deficiencies?
Well, the official website gives a list of supplements, foods and lifestyle changes you could use to rebalance your neurotransmitters in a more beneficial way.
Quote of the week
Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.